


Things You Said When You Thought I Was Sleeping

by LittleDidTheyKnow



Category: Daredevil (TV)
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Karedevil Freeform, Tumblr Prompts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-14
Updated: 2017-09-14
Packaged: 2018-12-29 19:08:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,586
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12091506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleDidTheyKnow/pseuds/LittleDidTheyKnow
Summary: Tumblr Prompt from musings-from-liverpool-street:My Karedevil interpretation of "things you said when you thought I was asleep"Written in several hours and probably in need of editing.





	Things You Said When You Thought I Was Sleeping

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Musings-from-liverpool-street](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Musings-from-liverpool-street).



**“How are we ever going to make this work?”**

_11:25 PM_

Karen looked at her watch and yawned. He was only 25 minutes behind, and she’d been late just as many times as he had, so she didn't fault him for it. But she was exhausted. Her latest article took much more legwork than she had thought it would, and she was up late every night for the last week. Even then, she barely made her deadline.

The day before she’d asked Matt if he would be able to come by, but he was slightly hesitant, and his “yes” sounded more like a “maybe.” So she figured that if he blew her off, it’d be fine.

She told herself she would make a cup of coffee. Scratch that, a pot of coffee. She knew she would need to drink a whole pot to stay awake tonight, so why lie to herself? She pulled her favorite cup off of her strainer and filled it to the brim.

Matt had found the cup at a bookstore a week into their relationship. It had a heart-shaped double wall and was about half the size she normally drank from, but she didn’t care. She figured she’d get exercise every time she walked to the coffee maker, killing two birds with one stone. But in reality, she just ended up moving the coffee maker to her desk on long nights, and filling it twice as much as she normally did.

It didn’t matter. This little cup was the perfect gift from him. He didn’t have to be told what was on the outside because there was no image to describe. It truly was a tactile object, and she smiled every time she saw him feeling along the walls as he washed it for her. The day he gave it to her, he told her the heart could remind her of much she loved coffee, or it could remind her of him, depending on the day. They weren’t quite at the “saying I love you” stage of their relationship yet, but she knew exactly what he meant.

Karen sat on her couch and drank to the halfway point of her glass, but that was it for her. She put the cup on the end table and fell asleep immediately.

_12:40 AM_

Matt climbed inside his girlfriend’s window and found her curled in the fetal position and clutching a throw pillow. He sighed and shook his head at how late he was, removing the horned mask along with his keys and phone and setting it on a table she left empty specifically for him. It was her own organized equivalent of a command center, but for vigilantes.

Her ability to be organized but also incredibly messy always made him laugh. Her clothes would be thrown all over the place, but her kitchen and bathroom counters were decluttered and accessible at all times. The same went for her bathroom drawers - divided and perfectly cleaned, while the inside of her shower was littered with shampoo, face scrubs, and soap bottles. He kept forgetting how much he wanted to get her something small enough to organize her tiny shower because the rack she had previously had long since been broken.

It was at Nelson & Murdock where he first started to notice this trait. Paperwork was always carefully organized - especially when they were his case files. But her top desk drawer was filled with empty snack and power bar wrappers; her desk covered in at least three different drink containers. Her least favorite thing to do was take out the trash, and for some reason, she thought that the less she filled her trash can, the less she had to go outside. Even though she'd have to clean everything up eventually.

But Karen made sure that Matt never had an issue finding anything, whether it be office supplies or kitchen necessities. One rainy day he heard her giggling when she opened an Amazon box that contained a Braille label maker she had ordered. She proceeded to use it around the office liberally, gaining the attention of Foggy Nelson. One day Foggy jokingly asked if she could get a regular label maker so that he could read the drawers too, and she didn’t miss a beat when she told him, “learn Braille.” Matt laughed so hard, he spat his coffee across the room. Foggy just shrugged his shoulders, saying that after all this time of having a best friend who was visually impaired, he was surprised that no one had told him that before. Matt knew that Foggy was just messing with her and actually knew how to (slowly) read Braille, but he never told her that.

_12:55 AM_

Matt showered off the sweat and dirt and tried to ignore his disappointment in himself. He set himself a reasonable goal, knowing that 11:00 PM was pretty late for her these days, but she agreed to meet him without a second thought. He would have skipped going out altogether, but he knew that there was a drug bust that night, and he wanted to be there as back-up for the police. He didn’t regret staying because things went bad fast, but by the time the criminals had been apprehended, he was already late.

Karen never expected or needed a reason; she knew who he was dating. But Matt always worried that she thought she was second fiddle to Daredevil. Keeping a personal and professional life was already difficult, but adding crime-fighting superhero to that list made juggling things damn near-impossible.

He walked over to her dresser and threw his suit and underclothes into a basket next to her dresser. He slipped into a pair boxers and his favorite sweatpants, followed by a t-shirt and rushed back to the couch.

She hadn’t moved.

He wondered if he should wake her up. They hadn’t seen each other in a week, but they called and texted regularly. That was how he knew she hadn’t been sleeping much. He bent down to the floor and ran his fingers through her hair and tilted his forehead against hers.

Her eyes blinked open as she felt his wet hair drip against her scalp. “Hi, handsome.”

Matt pulled away quickly, knowing exactly why she woke up and feeling even more terrible. “Hi, gorgeous. You should go back to sleep. I’m late.”

She blinked her eyes once more and ran her hand through his scraggly hair. “I fell asleep about five minutes after sitting down.”

He knew she was trying to make him feel better, and he wished it had worked. She sat straight up as he sat next to her. She pulled the coffee cup to her lips and felt its lukewarm liquid and swallowed reluctantly. She hated cold coffee.

“I need to get some more coffee. Do you need anything?” She asked as she got up.

He smiled. “Water would be nice.” He realized his throat was a little dry and figured he could thank the man he chased for three blocks.

“On it.” She leaned down to kiss him and he pulled her onto his lap. She was amazed that the coffee cup in her hand didn’t spill, but she wouldn’t have cared. She lived for the moments he surprised her like this. 

More droplets from his wet hair hit her in the face and she giggled as she pulled away. He got up and walked to her bedroom, grabbing his towel as she took her coffee cup to the kitchen. She saw him in the doorway, toweling his hair dry so he didn’t drip on her one more time. She smiled as she dumped her coffee and poured a new glass, pulling it to her lips.

_1:25 AM_

Karen spat the liquid out into the sink. Cold. Again. She really needed a new coffee maker, because this one didn’t hold heat whatsoever, and she hated microwaving the coffee from this garbage machine.

“Make yourself comfortable and I’ll be in in a minute, Matt,” she shouted from the kitchen. She was going to need some strong coffee to stay awake long enough to even have a short conversation tonight. She brewed a one-cup serving for herself, unwilling to waste any more coffee, and poured him a glass of water.

Karen took a sip of her fresh beverage and carried his water with her to the bedroom. She found him in the dark, sleeping while sitting up. She took a small breath and sat his glass on his nightstand, then pulled at the comforter. She couldn’t get it to budge.

“Matt, honey.” His eyes blinked open violently and he yawned.

“Hey, baby,” he said dreamily, followed by another yawn. “I’m awake, I promise."

She pulled on the comforter and he got the picture, sinking down into the pillow once they lifted the covers together. She handed him his water, and he drank half of it before setting it back down. He lay there looking in her direction as she grabbed pajamas from her drawer and got dressed for bed.

In the minute it took Karen to get dressed, Matt was asleep and snoring. She smiled at her exhausted superhero with his tousled hair and pursed her lips sadly. She adjusted her pillows so that she could sit up and climbed under the covers, opening her laptop. She was finally wide awake, probably due to her hour and a half long nap, so she might as well get some work done.

She checked her email and saw that she already had seven new messages. Normally that wouldn’t frustrate her, but she wanted so desperately to spend time with the handsome man in her bed. She rubbed the back of his neck and he leaned against her slightly and tilted his head like a sleeping puppy. She wished the tears away, but she wanted him to be here with her so badly it hurt.

“How are we ever going to make this work?” she whispered to her unconscious Devil of Hell’s Kitchen. Her voice broke on the last word and she sniffled and waved her hands in opposition. She was being ridiculous. People did this every day. They had jobs and friends and traveled for work. They could do this. _She_ could do this. If the worst thing she experienced was missing him when he was right next to her, she'd be fine.

She opened her first email and went back to work.

Matt didn’t move a muscle until his girlfriend began typing. But once he knew she wasn’t looking at him any longer, he sank into his pillow and wiped away a tear with his right hand. Why in the hell did he have to fall asleep?

*****

**"I love you"**

_6:50 PM_

Karen clenched her fists as the cab stopped at yet another red light. Normally the low balance in her bank account would prevent her from this kind of a luxury. But she was 20 minutes late for her date, and losing more time with Matt Murdock was not an acceptable option.

She and Matt had been dating for two months, and even though neither of them tried to make it a big deal by calling the date an anniversary, they both made sure their schedules were clear the night of the 26th.

Karen texted him that she was caught in traffic 25 minutes prior, and he responded with a simple, “no problem, baby.” But that feeling of relief went away every time she looked at her watch. She paid the cab driver quickly and tripped on her way out, catching herself before she ate pavement. She approached the little hole-in-the-wall Italian restaurant and smiled. It was an unspoken ritual they had, finding restaurants with character. He always found places that reminded her of why she loved New York.

Karen brushed one of her curls behind her ear and adjusted the bottom of her dress. She didn’t want to make a big deal about this small milestone, but she bought a new dress with the remainder of her paycheck and she didn’t care that it was expensive. A small part of her hoped that he was paying for tonight, but she didn’t actually care. That’s what credit cards were for.

She walked into the dimly lit restaurant and saw him sitting at a small booth with a bottle of wine on the end of the table. As a teenager, she always cringed when she read stories where people were described with cliches. They’d “light up the room” or “make the world stop turning,” and she’d roll her eyes. But, this man… He lit up the stationary earth the moment he went anywhere. And he was hers.

Matt looked to the doorway and she knew that he was aware of her presence. He smiled softly and she took a breath before walking toward him. He got out of his seat and took her coat, placing it on the other side of the booth with his own jacket. He seemed almost nervous as he escorted her to her seat just feet away, and it made her smile.

How she made that man nervous, she didn’t even know.

They ate for an hour and a half, talking about each of their days and moving on to Foggy and Marci, always a happy topic of debate. Karen was sure that they were in love, but Matt always brought up that they didn’t want to call it official for a reason - even though he knew the truth. Their banter made her comfortable, even though the silence never really got to her anymore. He was everything to her.

_8:30 PM_

Matt held her hand as they walked up the street, stopping for scoops of ice cream and eating on a park bench nearby. She lay in his lap and looked up at the stars as he finished his cone. The man ate slowly, and it always made her laugh. He savored everything that touched his lips, including her. She loved that about him.

_9:30 PM_

They made their way to his apartment without saying a thing, and she smiled when she found a present waiting for her on his kitchen table. It was a new coffee maker.

“To go with your mug,” he said with the biggest smile on his face, and she nearly melted.

She threw her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek. “Thank you,” she said quietly as tears came to her eyes. He spun her around and kissed her on the lips.

“You’re welcome.”

He lowered her to the ground and grabbed a bottle of wine that he had picked up specifically for the occasion. It was a riesling like she loved, and he paid $40, so he considered it a “good" bottle of wine. He was pretty sure the woman who sold it to him gave him a discount on it, which meant it was even better than an actual $40 bottle of wine.

“Oooh!” She said as she saw it. She was of the $5-10 bottle of wine persuasion, and she could tell by the label that this was far nicer than any bottle she’d gotten herself. He smiled at her excitement and opened his utensil drawer in search of a corkscrew as she grabbed the only two wine glasses he owned and went to the living room.

She sat them on the table and watched him as he searched each drawer in the kitchen. “Can’t find a corkscrew?” she asked him as she tilted her head against the back of the couch.

“I’m not sure if I even own one now that I think of it,” he said with a chuckle.

She yawned quietly. “We don’t have to drink the wine, sweetheart.” The two glasses she’d already had were making her slightly sleepy, and she didn’t want him to feel bad for things not going to plan.

“Two more places,” he said as rifled through a small box from the top of the fridge and then moved to his bar. He sat the bottle down as he pulled out his phone and called Foggy.

He answered on the second ring.

“Murdock!” 

“Nelson!”

Karen could hear Foggy laughing on the other end and wondered if he was drunk.

“Am I crazy or did you remove a wine cork with your shoe one time?” Matt asked him.

She could hear Foggy’s happy voice on the other end reminding his best friend of one of his glory days from college. Matt answered with a few “uh-huhs,” but by the time he hung up, Karen was asleep.

Matt heard her breathing and smiled as he sat his phone next to the wine bottle. At least this way he wouldn’t have to make a fool of himself. He forgot to ask Foggy if his shoe trick went off without a hitch, but a voice in his head told him he broke one bottle before getting it to work. Or he ruined a shoe. He was a little drunk himself that night, so his memory was a little, well, foggy.

He walked over to his girlfriend, whose face had moved into an uncomfortable position in the middle back of the couch. He grabbed a throw pillow and helped her onto it, as her dress rustled. Her hair fell over her face, but he moved it aside after bending down on his knees, ending with a kiss on her forehead. The tears rushed to his eyes as a car honked outside his window and distracted him, but the thought came right back. Tonight had been wonderful.

“I love you, baby,” he said with one more kiss on her forehead. This was the first time he said the words aloud, but he didn’t care. She was perfect. He’d tell her one day soon. When she was awake.

Matt got up and walked to the bathroom, loosening his tie before he made it to the door. He washed his face and brushed his teeth, ready to move the love of his life to the bed and kiss her once more before going to sleep.

But when he exited the bathroom and realized she was no longer on the couch. He tilted his head, listening for the location of her heartbeat and found it, she was under the covers and waiting for him.

He sensed her dress on the other side of the room laying on a chair and bit his lip, unbuckling his belt and removing his pants and shirts. She wiped her eyes as he climbed under the covers, followed by a sniffle. Matt ran his hands over her skin and found that she was decked out in lace. He pulled her on top of him and felt along her skin, kissing her excitedly until she pulled away and tilted her forehead against his and opened her mouth to speak. He smiled as he felt her hair tickling his ears.  

“Hello, handsome.”

*****

**“I can’t live without you”**

_4:00 AM_

Karen got off work late. Like, _there are no people on the street, and who knew that was possible in New York?_ late. She yawned as she pulled her purse over her shoulder, and crossed the street, pepper spray in hand.

She made her way to her apartment, elated at the fact that she was just three blocks away. Then she heard it.

“He’s gaining on us! Run!”

She got off the sidewalk and stayed close to a building, prepared to see men running, but no one came into view. Her superhuman boyfriend would be able to tell her which way not to go. Too bad he was in bed sleeping.

She smiled at the thought of climbing into a warm bed next to him and pulled her phone out to look at the time. There was no way she was going to wake him up. 

She stepped back onto the sidewalk and made it a half a block before she saw them. Two men had stopped running and were throwing punches at someone in an alley. She stepped into a shop alcove and fumbled around the inside of her purse in search of her phone. Then a gun went off.

Her eyes grew wide as she sunk against the wall and gave up on her phone as she saw the men run the other direction. She ran into the alley and found the last person she wanted to find.

Her boyfriend lay on the ground unconscious.

Karen choked on her breath, frozen for what felt like forever but was actually only a few seconds. She ran to him and felt her tears freezing in the night air. She fell to her knees and felt her phone in her pocket, pulling it out immediately and questioning what he’d want her to do in this situation.

“Matt?” She said loud enough for only him to hear. She felt all over his body for a bullet wound or blood. “Oh my God, honey, please…”

He didn’t move. She shook him gently and sniffled as her eyes blurred. Her sobs were loud enough to attract attention, but no one came. She cried as she lay her head on his chest, her hair cascading over his shoulders.

“Please, Matt. I can’t live without you. Please-”

Her voice broke as she reached for his neck, praying to find a pulse. But the moment she felt it, his hand reached up and grabbed hers.

“You won’t have to, baby.”


End file.
